Last semester there was some concern when department chairs were asked to reduce the number of sections offered for different classes in response to budget cuts. However, those worries seem to be unfounded after the issue was reinvestigated upon the implementation of the changes.
In October 2013, Betty Ellzey, the chair of the English and modern languages department and professor of English, explained that the reductions were meant to put more students in fewer sections with a limit of 20 students per class, and it appears to have worked out well for the general studies courses.
Shepherd hosted approximately 40 sections of English 101 and 102 last fall, and that number was reduced to 32 this semester. There are fewer students enrolled in the spring than the fall. The class average this semester is about 19 in each class, whereas last semester the average was 17 or 18. So, there have been one or two students more per class, a slight change.
Heather Carey, a freshman communications major, said that she registered just fine for her general studies classes. “I even got in one week before classes started,” Carey stated.
Ellzey stated, “I have had no complaints from students.” She recommends that students complete two tasks to help them get into the class sections they want: students simply need to meet with their advisor during the advisement period and register as soon as they are able to do so. Advisement started this week for fall 2014.
Freshman psychology major Molly DiServio said, “I got in my classes fairly easily.” When asked if she had any problems getting into other classes, DiServio and others quoted upper-level classes and non-general studies classes as the most difficult to plan for.
Heidi Hanrahan, associate professor of English, said that she hasn’t noticed the changes slowing students down on their path to graduation. “Perhaps there are fewer sections of certain courses, but students have more choices in terms of the courses themselves. And yes, they have to plan a bit more and be deliberate, but that’s a good thing,” Hanrahan stated.
English was not the only department advised to reduce the budget by cutting classes. History has been reduced from six to three hours in the core curriculum, which means that nearly all students can get into a 100-level history class in their freshman year.
“The history classes I had during my undergraduate were mostly lecture, and I feel like class size in a lecture class isn’t a great factor in quality,” stated Robert Dugan, MAT student and former Shepherd undergrad.
Anders Henriksson, chair of the history department and professor of history, said that the reduction “has also allowed us to reduce numbers per class. Under the old system, history classes typically had upwards of 40 students.” Henriksson feels that so many students per class was not conducive for classes that have critical thinking and written communication as core competencies. The history department is trying to limit enrollment per class to 30 students.
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